Wheel Shopping: Separating Truth From Hype

All cars have the wheel in common, though the wheels on our cars couldn’t be more diverse in form and construction. There’s an emotional element as well, as personalizing a vehicle often starts with changing the wheels, whether for aesthetic or performance reasons.

In motorsports, there are genuine, measurable gains to be had from swapping out the stock wheels for …

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Ok. Now tell us about the cheap wheels we can afford. 

Have had a set of XXR 527 on the Supra for a couple years now. Haven't hit anything, so I can't comment on strength in that regard. Last I checked, you're not supposed to hit things anyway?

As far as satisfaction goes, they're reasonably light for the size, and were reasonably priced as well. Doesn't hurt that they look good and came with blank centercaps so I can put hello kitty stickers on them.

In reply to te72 :

So, how have they faired for auto sport use? This is where the rumors, horror stories, and the “buy name brand” stories foment. 

Owning a set of Forgelines is on my bucket list. But spending more on a set of wheels than I did on the vehicle is a tough pill to swallow.

When I worked at Firestone we had a customer with knock off China te37 on a 370z. Came in complaining of a tire balance issue and we noticed half the spokes were cracked all the way through on his back wheels. He got lucky. Absolute disaster waiting to happen. Totally turned me off even the thought of off brand eBay wheels. 

STM317 said:

Owning a set of Forgelines is on my bucket list. But spending more on a set of wheels than I did on the vehicle is a tough pill to swallow.

With what I paid for my track Miata, almost everything cost more than the car did! 

There are a lot of wheel brands out there -- is anyone keeping a list of reputable makers of affordable flow formed / rotary forged wheels?

We have Rota RB25's on our MGB. I have been totally satisfied. Thirteen pounds for 15x6. Totally straight out of the box. I have accidently hit bumps and potholes that physically hurt and thought for sure that it would have damaged the wheels. But they just take the hit and keep on going. 

I think it's important to realize that if you're tracking your car or putting heavy loads on it, any wheel is eventually going to break or crack. And jut the right hit will do the same for any wheel too. The lighter your wheels the more risky this becomes.

nderwater said:

There are a lot of wheel brands out there -- is anyone keeping a list of reputable makers of affordable flow formed / rotary forged wheels?

Basically everything "affordable" that isn't super heavy is flow formed now. And there are plenty. 

REAL forged wheels are horrifically expensive. Typically $700+ per wheel.

Trackmouse said:

Ok. Now tell us about the cheap wheels we can afford. 

For what fitment?

Seems to me if you drive anything that is autocross/tracked frequently, there are a ton of cheap options out there.  I usually start with TRM wheels because that is pretty much the target:  cheap, light, motorsports oriented.

Now if only their 15x8 Miata wheels had a higher offset...

Unfortunately, I read this article as a series of "buy me" pitches from the vendors.  Except for the TR explanation, I learned little.  I doubt that GRM has the resources for exhaustive race testing of the durability of wheels but if the readership can be reasonably objective the wisdom of the crowd might offer some decent direction.  A general and widespread survey of race hours for various wheel types might point to a vendor or manufacturing process that provides the best value.  i.e good grass roots data analysis might provide some illuminating results...  

The breytons on the e46 have held up to absurdly bad roads with what I'd consider rubber band tires 35 series in the rear). Had them refinished about a year ago. Well worth the $450 the refinishing cost. Rears needed a ton of weight to balance but now it's barely any. To be fair, I'm pretty sure they are at least 10 years old and have had a hard life. 

I'm having a hell of a time figuring out what the bolt patterns are for TR motorsports wheels. There are several in five lug (in the pictures anyway) but I can't find the numbers. I know TR wants me to shop by vehichicle, but sometimes I want to look at wheels "off label" if you will. 

Yeah, you can't really do that easily.

What pattern are you looking for?

In reply to mazdeuce - Seth :

You can call them or use the chat thing on the website and they will search by wheel specs for you- it's annoying that the site itself doesn't have that function, but it is available if you get a hold of a person who works there.

In reply to ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ :

I hate talking to real people so much......

In reply to ProDarwin :

5x114.3. Accord offset, whatever that is. I'm not completely sold on the idea of getting brand new wheels for the car, but the prices on TR wheels make them hardly more expensive than used ones around here. 

Ah.  Search for a WRX STI, S2000, NC Miata, or RX8.  They make pretty solid fitments for all of those.  Not sure what would work best on the Accord, but my gut says NC Miata is in the right range.

What about prolonged use on-track and developing stress fractures?

Also, don't powder-coat your aluminum wheels, or you'll know a lot about stress fractures very soon.

I tend to keep oem wheels on a car unless I can afford to pay for the good stuff.  I have no issue buying the high-end stuff used. 

My favorite brands are hre, ssr, oz, enkei, work, old school ronals, competitive.

I think Mercedes makes the best looking wheels especially some amg wheels. 

mazdeuce - Seth said:

I'm having a hell of a time figuring out what the bolt patterns are for TR motorsports wheels. There are several in five lug (in the pictures anyway) but I can't find the numbers. I know TR wants me to shop by vehichicle, but sometimes I want to look at wheels "off label" if you will. 

My understanding is that TR got tired of dealing with returns/exchanges from people selecting wheels and not knowing wtf they're doing doing. And naturally blaming TR for it. I can understand why they took the no-vehicle wheel shopping away.

The flexibility/stiffness part I find interesting.. other qualities are pretty straightforward and easily measurable.  Is there any industry standard for comparing it?

Austincrx said:

What about prolonged use on-track and developing stress fractures?

Also, don't powder-coat your aluminum wheels, or you'll know a lot about stress fractures very soon.

Wheels, when used for HPDE/Racing, are a wear item. And should be frequently inspected for hairline cracks/fractures. 

How about a set of 15x7, in 4x114.3 and ALSO in 5x114.3. Oh, and zero offset. 

In reply to Trackmouse :

Enkei Compe comes in both of those bolt patterns, 15x7, 0 offset.